Thing 2: Personal and Business social networking sites

You may have heard of websites such as MySpace, Bebo, FaceBook and LinkedIn but have you taken the plunge and joined?

Personal social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook and Bebo, allow users to create a profile of themselves, upload pictures and be "friends" with other users - like an online diary. In most social networking services, both users must confirm that they are friends before they are linked. MySpace became the most popular personal social networking site in the the USA in 2006 but was overtaken by Facebook in 2008. Generally over 30s crowd use Facebook and Bebo is aimed at the younger market.

Business social networking sites such as LinkedIn offers a way to build professional relationships and boost your personal brand. Your profile should say who you are, what you do, what your point of difference is and why should we use you.


Discovery resources
LinkedIn
Facebook
Bebo
MySpace

Discovery exercise

1. Choose one of the social networking sites listed above that you would like to explore and sign in.
   
   
2. Search for a friend, topic of interest or group that interests you and request to be a friend or join the group.
   
   
3. Post a comment below and reflect about what worked for you...and what didn't....what surprised you...what frustrated you....what amazed you...or even which of the social networking sites you liked best.